Memories
by LittleSass
Summary: When Emma saw Hook pull out certain things out of the box of her old life, it creates a nagging feeling in her all night. Because of her trouble sleeping that night, she decides to pull some of those things out again and reminisce in the life where she used to be so happy.


A/N: Hey guys! I know I've been gone for a long time and I apologize for that. A lot of things have been going on and I'm not a hundred percent sure when things are going to be back on track. For those of you following _Together We Can_, I hope you are enjoying it and I hope I can find some time to get another chapter written soon. Just keep in mind that there may not be regular updates. Anyways I came up with this while watching the last episode of _Once Upon A Time_ and hope you guys like it!

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><p>That night, Emma didn't know what she was going to do. After showing Hook her childhood memories and finding out how she knew the Snow Queen, she has had a lot on her mind. She surprised herself when she brought the box back with her to her parent's apartment. It was currently sitting on the side of her bed, itching to be gone through again.<p>

She let out a long sigh, knowing that she probably wouldn't be getting much sleep tonight. She caves and reaches over to pull the box onto the bed. She grabs her baby blanket and snuggles that a bit before reaching in for the small blue box.

Just thinking about what is inside brings a few tears to her eyes. Slowly, she opens the box and begins to go through what is inside.

Emma picks up the picture of her and Neal and the ring at the same time. It brought her back to happier times when things seemed less complicated.

_"Hey Em, I got you something." Neal announces as they are making themselves comfortable in their small yellow bug. _

_"What do you mean you got me something?"_

_"Exactly that. Here." _

_Emma takes what she is offered and opens it. Inside she finds a small plastic ring inside. She stares at it while turning it over not saying anything._

_"I know it's not a shiny gold ring. But as you can tell, we're kind of on a budget right now." He says trying to explain himself._

_"Neal, what is this for?" Emma asks confused._

_"It's not like I'm asking you to marry me, Emma. At least, not yet. I just want you to know that no matter what happens, I'll always be thinking of you. I want you to have everything you've ever wanted in life, and I'll do whatever I can to help make that happen. Just always know and remember that I love you, Emma."_

_"So this is kind of a reminder of sorts?"_

_"Yeah, I guess it is. This way whenever you see that ring, hopefully, you'll remember this moment."_

_Emma slides the ring over her finger. She leans over and wraps her arms around Neal before giving him a quick kiss. "Thank you, Neal. I love it and I love you."_

_"I love you too."_

The memory comes back so vividly it brings tears to her eyes. For the first time in many years, Emma slides the ring onto her finger. She holds the picture up closer remembering how happy she used to be with him. She looks at her once happy self and to the man that she loved.

"I wish you could be here now and see Henry growing up. He remembers everything again, meaning he remembers you. It was hard for us both to relive the fact that you were gone. That you had to leave us again because you wanted to save and protect us." She says, speaking to the picture in front of her.

"I'm sorry for not giving you another chance when you wanted to make us a family. I just kept living in the past and couldn't get that you left me out of my head." She pauses to sniffle. "I know that I once said that it would be easier for me if you were dead, but now that you are, I see how wrong I was."

"You would be surprised and maybe a little be proud but I have started to make amends with Regina. We've come to an understanding and may even become friends. Today when I was with her, I remembered this girl that I met a long time ago who I thought was going to be my best friend forever. Her name was Lily. I found out she lied to me. I didn't forgive her and just walked away. I've regretted it ever since. It made me realize that I always seem to hold a stupid grudge and end up regretting it later.

"It's what happened with you. Hook is a great guy and I'm lucky to have him right now, but there are times that I wonder if things could be different."

Emma could barely sit in her room any longer. She didn't want to be alone with her thoughts anymore, dreaming about what if.

Downstairs, Emma goes into the kitchen and begins preparing one of the most comforting things she could think of: hot chocolate with cinnamon. When she finishes making it, she takes a seat and stares off into space for a little.

A few minutes later, she senses some movement and turns to the source.

"Dad? What are you doing up?"

"I could ask you the same thing." David retorts.

"Well I asked you first." Emma rebuttals.

"It was my turn to tend to Neal and then I heard you in the kitchen. I came to check if you were ok."

"I'm fine. It's just I've had a lot on my mind lately."

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asks, taking a seat nest to her.

She shrugs but then eventually relents. "A lot of it has been about Neal."

"Your brother?"

"No, not that Neal."

"Oh, you mean Henry's father."

"Yeah. I wish he was here."

David looks slightly confused as he scrunches up his face a little. "What about Hook? Aren't you two dating now or something?"

"Well, we are, but after today I can't really stop thinking about him. Hook has been amazing lately and I really like him, but sometimes I feel like I just can't be sure with him."

"Why? Did he do something?" David's protective father side making an appearance.

"No, no he didn't do anything. It's just that Neal and I were so happy once and I wonder if I had given him a second chance then maybe we could have been happy like that again. This time we would have Henry there with us too."

"He was your true love." David states.

"I don't know. I know I loved him, but I don't know if he was my true love. He could have been but whenever he tried to get close to me, I kept pushing him away. He died and I don't know if he died knowing just how much I loved him."

"Emma, I know you get tired of hearing this from your mother and me, but I know a thing or two about true love. I believe what you and Neal had was true love. He seemed to always be ready to do whatever he needed to do in order to protect you or Henry. But besides that, the look he gave you whether you noticed it or not gave it all away."

"He looked at me the way you look at Mom?"

"He did. And every once in while when your guard was dropped for a split second, you would give him the same look."

"I just...I'm just so confused. Why does love have to be so complicated?" She asks as she leans her head on her father's shoulder, searching for the warmth and comfort she was deprived of for so many years.

"If love was easy, Emma, then there would be no need to fight for it. You've seen it for yourself. True love is the most powerful form of magic there is."

"What am I supposed to do? Am I going to be able to love Hook the way that I finally realized that I loved Neal?"

"Sweetheart, Neal was your true love and he may be gone now but that doesn't mean that you are incapable of loving someone like that again. Look at Regina for instance. She loved Daniel, but now has come to fall for Robin."

"But then what happens to Neal?"

"He will be happy, knowing that you are happy. You know that your happiness is most important to him."

"What if he thinks that I forgot about him? Or what if he thinks I don't love him anymore?"

"I don't think that's going to happen, Emma. He has to know that a part of your heart will always belong to him. True love will never really go away."

"What if in some crazy afterlife I find myself in another love triangle with Neal and Hook. What do I do then?"

"I can't really answer that for you, Emma. All I know is that true love will find a way to work itself out."

Emma picks her head up off of David's shoulder. She looks at her father who knows so much about love from first hand experience. "Thanks, Dad." She goes and hugs him.

"I'm here whenever you need me, Emma. You know that."

"I do. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, sweetheart." David tells her as kisses her head.

She then makes her way over to the staircase leading to her bedroom. When she gets about halfway up, she hears her father call her name.

"Yeah?"

"Does it help if I told you that I'm glad you might have chosen Neal instead of Hook?"

Emma chuckles to herself a little. "It doesn't really help me right now, and it doesn't really surprise me either."

"Well you can't blame a father for wanting what's best for his daughter. I know if things happened a little differently then he would have been it for you. Your face lit up whenever you talked about all of the good times you two shared. I wish you two could have lived out your happily ever after."

"Me too. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Emma climbs into bed as soon as she gets back to her room. She hopes that her father was right when he said that true love has a way of working itself out. Emma twirls the plastic ring that she still has on her finger thoughtfully. "Goodnight, Neal."


End file.
